Arsenal snatch hope from the jaws of looming semi-final elimination

 

Villarreal 2 Arsenal 1
Europa League Semi Final 1st Leg
Thursday 29th April 2021 9pm local time

The memory goes back to 2006 and a previous European semi-final against Villarreal. Although a night of triumph for Arsenal, ultimately, it shouldn't be ignored that, by and large, they stunk the place out in that 2nd leg, offering very little and hanging on for the 0-0 that qualified them for the Champions League final in Paris.

And with Mikel Arteta’s team selection yesterday evening, one could be forgiven for thinking he sought a similar result. Manchester City have demonstrated that you can achieve success without an orthodox front man, but Arsenal are not in the same league (although the European Super League may have attempted to engineer that). Arteta, not happy with Eddie Nketiah’s contribution against Everton, could have played Martinelli up front instead (one assumes Aubameyang was not fit enough to start the game). But the manager chose to do without a front man and it didn’t really work. His team created few clear-cut chances without an orthodox striker of some description on the field. Most of the time Emile Smith-Rowe filled the gap, but there rarely seemed any presence in the area when crosses came in. The starting eleven was the same as that which beat Slavia Prague 4-0, with the exception of Odegaard for the injured Lacazette.

Villarreal certainly had the better of the first half, scoring twice. On both occasions, plain bad defending was responsible. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to identify Granit Xhaka as the weak link in the Gunners’ back line – and so it proved in the build-up to the Spanish team’s first goal. Dani Ceballos’ lack of pace was also an initial factor in the build-up. Xhaka did fare better as the game wore on, but the initial damage had been done. 

Things did not improve and a corner met with little resistance as a flick on led to a goal. It was schoolboy stuff, too easy, as Villarreal simply out-jumped the Arsenal centre backs. Apparently the team have actually been defending set pieces better this season, but the evidence of this was lacking here. It felt like a switch at half-time might be necessary, but it didn’t happen.

After the break, Dani Ceballos, already on a yellow card, made a challenge and might have been given a second yellow. He got away with it. Arteta failed to heed the warning, preferring to keep Ceballos on the field. It took another 10 minutes for the chickens to come home and roost, plenty of time for Ceballos to be subbed, but he remained on the field and fouled again. The inevitable yellow card was shown and Arsenal were reduced to ten men with over half an hour remaining. It didn’t look good.

Still, all hope was not lost. For some reason, the team played better with Ceballos off the pitch, especially after Martinelli replaced Odegaard. Pepe and Saka continued to try and probe, which ultimately led to a much-needed goal. Saka was clever in the box to win a spot-kick which Pepe despatched. An away goal and a life-line, meaning a 1-0 victory next week would be enough to qualify, although you kind of doubt that’s going to happen, given the team’s defensive woes and Bernd Leno’s inconsistency – although he did make a decent stop last night at 2-0.

The final ten minutes saw Villarreal also reduced to ten men when Etienne Capoue construed to be stretchered off at the same time as receiving a second yellow. Aubameyang entered the fray in place of Saka and had one fairly decent chance to level the scores saved by the keeper. And so it ended. Unai Emery assisted things with a ‘we have what we hold’ substitution at the interval sending on former Gunner Francis Coquelin for the more attacking Alcazer. Nevertheless, he’s won this competition enough times to not underestimate his ability to get a result next Thursday. Arsenal will certainly have to defend better.

Ultimately, it was one that the Gunners got away with. The tie could easily have been dead and buried after the first leg. Mikel Arteta did not help himself with his team selection and then the lunacy of leaving Ceballos on the pitch after he escaped a second yellow shortly after the interval. 

Manchester United walloped Roma at Old Trafford after going 2-1 down. Even if Arsenal make the final, you feel like they will be meeting a team running into decent form, something there is little sign of further south. Still, the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup triumphs took place amidst disappointments in the Premier League, so although a trophy feels unlikely, failure in not completely inevitable.

That though, assumes the team can do the job at home in the second leg. Aubameyang should be fit, although will likely play central where he seems to be less effective for some reason. Two years ago, Arsenal beat Villarreal’s near neighbours Valencia to qualify for a final in eastern Europe where they faced Premier League opposition. The memories of that semi-final 2nd leg are very good ones, although what followed against Chelsea was certainly not the case. The competing teams in Gdansk will be allowed 4,000 fans each, although it’s strictly organized club plane in, coach to ground, hang around for the game, see match, coach to airport, flight home. No trip into town, no real experience of the place, which at least provided a small element of pleasure in Baku.

Still, people can worry about that in a week’s time, when making the decision to travel to Poland just to watch a game of football and nothing else may not even be a problem. As for Arteta, it does feel  like he is digging his own grave with some of his decisions. If he pulls this off and gets Arsenal back with the big boys next season, then fair play to him. It’s not something I’d put much money on though. 

To be notified when there is fresh content on my blog (generally the day after matches), follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KevinWhitcher01